Las Vegas Hotel-Casino Tycoon Sheldon Adelson Dies; Adelson Helped Pass Stadium Hotel Room Tax To Build Raiders Venue

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

Hotel-casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the major force behind Nevada legislation in 2016 that helped build the Raiders’ football stadium, has died at 87 years old.

“Sheldon led the charge to bring the NFL to Las Vegas, and largely through his determination and leadership, we are now the home of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said early Tuesday.

“This stadium was the missing link,” former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval told LVSportsBiz.com about a year ago. “And Sheldon was a great leader in all of this.” In 2016, Sandoval signed the bill into law that put Southern Nevada on the hook to contribute $750 million in public money to help build the Raiders’ 65,000-seat domed stadium that sits on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.

A year ago in January 2020, Raiders President Marc Badain also told LVSportsBiz.com, “We wouldn’t be here without Sheldon.”

News of Adelson’s death spread early Tuesday in the pre-light hours in Las Vegas, where he was one of the most influential and powerful players in Southern Nevada. Adelson was also a major supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, contributing tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican candidates over the years. While he became known as the “GOP megadonor” in obits across media platforms today, his casino empire stretched from the Strip to China.

On the Raiders and stadium front, Adelson bankrolled the political muscle that convinced state lawmakers to create the hotel room tax increase to pay for the public’s share of the stadium funding. The room tax is generating money being collected over 30 years for the debt service on bonds sold to pay for the public contribution for the stadium’s construction. Sandoval called the special legislative session for the Raiders stadium deal and signed the stadium bill in 2016.

Raiders owner Mark Davis issued this statement to LVSportsBiz.com Tuesday: “With the passing of Sheldon Adelson, the world lost a visionary, leader, statesman and philanthropist. Whether it was revolutionizing the convention business, bringing excellence to the hotel and hospitality industry, being a king maker on a global scale, or building the most magnificent stadium right here in Las Vegas, Sheldon made dreams come true.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Miriam and the entire Adelson Family. The debt we owe Sheldon Adelson will never be forgotten.”

Adelson’s wife, Miriam Adelson, issued a lengthy statement Tuesday. A passage:

“It is with unbearable pain that I announce the death of my husband, Sheldon G. Adelson, of complications from a long illness.

“Sheldon was the love of my life. He was my partner in romance, philanthropy, political activism and enterprise. He was my soulmate.

“In our amazing 32-year adventure together, I was fortunate to witness the beauty of Sheldon’s private side.”

Adelson was chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which issued this statement.

In part, it read, “Our founder and visionary leader, Sheldon G. Adelson, passed away last night at the age of 87 from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  Born to immigrant parents and raised in a poor section of Boston, Mr. Adelson went from a teenager selling newspapers on a street corner to becoming one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

“His achievements in the integrated resort and hospitality industry are well-documented.  In Las Vegas, Macao and Singapore, Mr. Adelson’s vision for integrated resorts transformed the industry, changed the trajectory of the company he founded, and reimagined tourism in each of those markets.  His impact on the industry will be everlasting.”

Adelson was worth $33 billion, according to Forbes. He was credited with helping make Las Vegas a major convention market and built the Sands Expo Convention Center, which served Adelson’s Venetian and Palazzo hotel-casinos.

Here’s the response from MGM Resorts International. MGM Resorts has a betting sponsorship deal with the Raiders and the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium is within walking distance of MGM Resorts properties like Mandalay Bay and Luxor.

The Raiders are here in Las Vegas because of a publicly-subsidized football stadium that came about because of Adelson’s political influence in Carson City, Nevada.

Adelson’s political clout, financial contributions and consultants influenced the Nevada Legislature in 2016 to approve the bill that said Southern Nevada would contribute $750 million to a Raiders football stadium that would cost $1.4 billion to construct. The overall stadium budget was a hair under $2 billion, which included land acquisitions, professional costs and equipment. Here’s Gov. Sisolak and team president Badain a year ago at the stadium site and the new stadium that opened in late July.

LVSportsBiz.com reported this story in January 2020 on how Adelson made the Raiders stadium happen, but did not participate in public stadium events to acknowledge the palatial venue after its ground breaking ceremony in November 2017. A statement issued by Adelson in February 2017 — nearly four years ago — explained why he dropped out of the stadium deal less than a year after the state approved the stadium tax in 2016.

“The Oakland Raiders came before the Las Vegas Stadium Authority last week with a proposed lease agreement that has sent shockwaves through our community,” Adelson said in the statement. “It was certainly shocking to the Adelson family. We were not only excluded from the proposed agreement; we weren’t even aware of its existence.”

Adelson took his pledged $650 million off the table to help build the Raiders stadium. Raiders owner Mark Davis switched gears and received a loan to make up for the $650 million loss in stadium construction funding.

Adelson bought the Review-Journal in 2015, but did not identify himself as the owner until the newspaper itself had to dig into the matter and report that it was Adelson who had purchased the daily publication. (Disclosure: LVSportsBiz.com writer Alan Snel was a reporter at the Review-Journal where he covered stadium issues when Adelson bought the daily newspaper.)

Sisolak also touched on Adelson’s charity work.

“There is no doubt that the Adelson family has been among Nevada’s most charitable residents. From programs to help the homeless and hungry, support for our universities and schools, developing addiction clinics, building the Adelson School, the family’s generosity has touched every corner of our State.

“For me, in these difficult times, one act stands above all. Despite suffering significant economic losses due to the global pandemic, the shutdowns and limited business, due to mitigation protocols, Sheldon made a commitment to keep all of his Las Vegas employees paid and insured. That commitment helped keep thousands of Nevadans afloat during the most difficult of months, and Sheldon’s commitment will never be forgotten.”

A funeral will be held in Israel, the birthplace of Dr. Miriam Adelson, with plans for a memorial service held in Las Vegas to be announced at a later date.